Cesc will be an Arsenal player if we want to keep him, but I'm not sure we do. Maybe I'm making too big a deal about the last dozen League games from last year but I don't think so. I'm worried about injuries, motivation, subbability, benchability.
The guy is world class but hasnt had a propper break from football in a long time. I know hamstrings are a re-occuring nightmare if they are at all dodgey but we should be able to rest him more and sub him off with Ramsey back in the squad or with the supposed additions of Gervinho and Alvarez move the midfield around with Nasri to suit. There will be plenty of options and depth if we sign those two guys keep Nasri and get Ramsey into a run of games. A healthy Cesc with some clever additions at the back and DM is an exciting prospect.
rumours state that wenger was disappointed at cesc's willingness to give up his commission fee to materialize the transaction cesc's captaincy will be stripped and handed to either van persie or vermaelen.
must be some close source to get that info. i noted that it was unnamed and came from the daily star. “Cesc conducts himself with total professionalism in everything he does for Arsenal,” said an Emirates source. “But with all that has gone on there is a school of thought that he might not be the ideal candidate to remain as captain" whose school of thought? that implies more than one person. which emirates source? i'm calling this a journo reading forums and needing a story.
Weird. That link/story looks legitimate, but when I go in through Arsenal.com instead of your link I can't find it. Did a search on "Fabregas" in the news archive, and it doesn't come up. Only reason I got curious is that the Guardian is now running a story claiming the club have not issued any new statements regarding the situation. How'd you come across the link? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/27/arsenal-cesc-fabregas-barcelona Edit: ah, yes. At the bottom of the story you link, there's a date -- Wednesday, June 02, 2010. Got me.
If a deal is not done this year, Cesc will probably stay until the final year of his contract. Financial Fair Play kicks in after this summer, and if Barca can't afford him now, they certainly won't be able to in the future. £30m+Thiago and be done with it. Use 18 to wrap up Mata, the remaining 12 on a DM. Pre-season training starts in a week, so lets get our business done quickly and focus on integrating the new players in the squad.
^^ I'd take that in a heartbeat, provided the other players (Nasri, Clichy)don't overreact to this as a sign the club are giving up hope.
That price isn't enough - 30m + Thiago and his brother. That plus Ramsey and Wilshere means we'll be ok in the middle for a while, even if there'll be growing pains for a season or two while we learn how to create chances.
i'd take £25M + Alcantara. and like you said rewind, get his little buddy mata in here. but wouldn't we have a similar problem? too many of the same guy (type). mata, alcantara, nasri, wilshere, ramsey, diaby for me, they are all attacking midfielders. (just thinking outloud here)
that's right lamb. so gervinho, arshavin, walcott, nasri, mata to occupy 2 forward positions. arshavin has to be out of here, doesn't he? not to derail.. this is probably more suited for transfer thread.
he signed a 4 and a half year contract? hmm. you sure? looking it up (admittedly quickly) the only 2 mentions i can see are from the guardian and transfermarkt. the guardian said 3 and a half years, which makes it only 12 months left. transfermarkt have his expiry as june 2012, which also makes it 3 and a half years and 12 months left. everywhere else just say "long term". i can't see any mention of an extension being signed.
£30m and Thiago?! I don't think that's realistic at all. Barca said they'd pay £35m tops, so Thiago is valued at the same as Joey Barton...